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• Twin dolphins were 
chosen as the insignia of the 
Submarine Service because of 
the characteristic way in 
which dolphins dive 
and surface. 

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im 

Jhe Silent Service 

— is for STAMINA in hardship to serve; 

— for the UNION they fight to preserve. 

— tells of BLOWS...each hard BLOW that's struck; 

— hails the MEN . .. and their limitless pluck. 

— avows ACTION that makes pulses race; 

— imputes RISKS they so heedlessly face. 

— means INTREPID and, of course, INSPIRATION; 

— stands for NAVY, bright shield of the NATION. 

— marks the ENEMY'S mounting distress,- 

— is for SILENCE but also SUCCESS. 
























Our Men in Submarines 


Men in our Submarine Service are 
besieging the citadel of the enemy, 
demoralizing his supply lines, sink¬ 
ing his troop ships, crippling his 
battle fleets. The toll of enemy ship¬ 
ping that has already been taken is 
heavy. And it is still mounting. Our 
men in submarines have given us a 
daily example of devotion to duty, 
of vigor,-stamina, and valor. 



JAMES FORRESTAL, 
Secretary of the Navy 


— 3 — 

















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JVone More Creditably 


For reasons of security, our submarine opera¬ 
tions throughout the Pacific can be discussed 
only in very general terms. No branch of the 
naval service, however, has acquitted itself 
more creditably. Submarine commanding of¬ 
ficers are skillful, daring and resourceful. Their 
crews are well trained and efficient. Their 
morale is high and in direct ratio to the success 
of submarine operations. Materially our sub¬ 
marines are in excellent shape, and we have 
kept up to the minute in all features of design 
and scientific development and research. 

The versatility of our submarines has been so 
repeatedly demonstrated throughout the war 
that the Japanese know only too well that in no 
part of the Pacific Ocean are they safe from 
submarine attack. When the full story can be 
told, it will constitute one of the most stirring 
chapters in the annals of naval warfare. 



Admiral ERNEST J. KING. U. S. N. 

Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, 
and Chief of Naval Operations, in his report 
to the Secretary of the Navy. 


— 5 — 



V 







































Our Subs 
Keep on Going 


Our position in the Pacific is very 
favorable, and it improves with the 
passage of time. Thanks to our sub¬ 
marines, whenever we have a lull in 
other operations, the submarines 
keep on going there, and their war is 
becoming more and more intensified 
as the number of submarines in¬ 
creases. 



Admiral CHESTER W. NIMITZ, U. S. N 
Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet 


7 



3^ CLCt. Per square inch, there is more science packed into 
a submarine than into any other warcraft. Every available 
inch of a submarine is put to effective use, but submariners 
never object to giving up space for new marvels of science. 
They say: “There is room for everything aboard a submarine 
— except a mistake.” 


Z? CLCt, In their early history, submarines were called by 
names by which they would scarcely be recognized today. 
One ancient name for the submarine was “eel boat”. Another 
was “plunging boat”, which soon became “diving boat”. The 
expression “tin fish” once meant a submarine, although it now 
means a torpedo. For that matter, the word “torpedo” once 
also meant a submarine, and Fulton called his first submarine 
by that name. 


3 act: 


In the past submarines have been propelled while 
submerged by oars, treadles, hand-operated screws, clockwork, 
springs, steam stored in tubes, chemical engines, compressed 
air and stored gases. The electric motor, introduced about 
1866 , has supplanted all other forms of underwater propulsion. 
At various times, experiments were conducted to determine if 
submarines could be propelled under the sea by rockets or by 
Diesel engines using hydrogen. 


— 8 — 




Jhe Submarine Service 


The Submarine Service is distinctly American both in tra¬ 
dition and in spirit. 

History records that the genius of American science created 
the modern submarine. It is as American as the telegraph, the 
airplane, the dive bomber and the carrier. 

Although submersible craft had been in development for 
thousands of years, four Americans, David Bushnell, Robert 
Fulton, John Philip Holland and Simon Lake, comprised the 
coterie of inventors who transformed ancient dreams into an 
effective and practical underseas craft. 

Hence, the increasing success of the American submarines 
in the present war is but a natural outcropping of history, a 
to-be-expected fulfillment of the past. With a determination 
backed by trained skill, the men of the Submarine Service have 
made the submarine one of the most deadly of the Navy’s many 
weapons. 

By nature of its operations, the Submarine Service is shielded 
in secrecy. It has always been so. As a result, the Submarine 
Service has long been the Silent Service. 

Yet, while the operations themselves are a secret, the effects 
of the submarine campaign upon the war are not. Admiral 
Nimitz has already publicly expressed the view that our sub¬ 
marines have been and will be a controlling factor in the course 
of the war. 

As Admiral King has already indicated: “When the full 
story can be told, it will constitute one of the most stirring 
chapters in the annals of naval warfare.” 

The record one day will speak. 


— 9 — 



DAVID BUSHNELL 


SUBMARINE PIONEE 



TU/S WAS THE E/EST 
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3 act: 


The first submarine ever to attack a warship in 
actual warfare was Bushnell’s tiny submarine, the TURTLE, 
which, in 1776, made an unsuccessful foray against the British 
frigate EAGLE. The first submarine actually to sink a warship 
was also an American submarine, the Confederate HUNLEY, 
which, in 1864 during the Civil War, sank the U. S. S. HOUSA- 
TONIC. 


Jact: 


Submarines and destroyers were once under the 
same command. An independent command for submarines was 
established in 1914. 


Jact: 


Although the tradition has not always been fol¬ 
lowed, submarine tenders usually bear the names of the char¬ 
acters of mythology, the names of submarine inventors, or the 
names of persons who have made contributions to the Sub¬ 
marine Service. The tenders, BUSHNELL, FULTON and 
HOLLAND bear the names of submarine inventors. The 
SPERRY is named for Elmer Sperry, whose gyroscopic com¬ 
pass and other devices advanced submarine navigation im¬ 
measurably. The GRIFFIN remembers the late Rear Admiral 
Robert Stanislaus Griffin, USN, former Chief of the Bureau of 
Steam Engineering, noted for his contributions to the design, 
building and upkeep of machinery for naval ships. The GIL¬ 
MORE, which was to have borne the name NEPTUNE, honors 
Commander Howard W. Gilmore, USN, the submarine skip¬ 
per, who, when wounded, sacrificed his life for his ship. 


Quote: “The Submarine Service has done a particu¬ 
larly amazing and outstanding job.” 

Frank Knox, late Secretary of the Navy. 


Quote: 


‘Shipping is Japan’s jugular vein.” 

Secretary Forrestal. 


— 11 — 


Life Aboard a Submarine 


The tempo of life aboard a submarine can scarcely be 
reduced to descriptive phrases. It has to be experienced 
to be understood. 

One submariner will tell you that what makes life so 
enjoyable in a submarine is the spirit of comradeship 
among the men. Officers and enlisted men form one 
closely knit brotherhood, joined together by bonds that 
will outlast many years. They have a deep and loyal 
conception of unity and a code: “One for all and all 
for one.” 

Another submariner will mention the everyday chal¬ 
lenge of living aboard a craft where every inch that 
can be spared is devoted to fascinating devices, the 
wonders of modern science. He will say: “For me a 
submarine is a floating laboratory, a virtual engineering 
school, where not only do I never stop learning but 
where I never stop wanting to learn.” 

Still another will talk about the food, the pay or 
the well-ordered compactness of the vessel. 

Many men will mention first the action that is certain 
to be a part of every patrol, action which etches itself 
forever in the memory. 

Then others will cite that submarine life gets its 
particular flavor from the fact that every man in a 
submarine is equal to the next man, that each man must 
shoulder his share of the responsibility, that such ac¬ 
ceptance of responsibility naturally leads to effort and 
that effort leads to rapid promotion. 

But submarine life is none of these things separately; 
it is a happy composite of them all — and many more. 


— 12 — 



ROBERT FULTON 


. SUBMARINE PROPHET 



N/S E/RST SUBMARINE TRAVELED 
BV SA/L WA/LE ON THE SURFACE 
WHEN IT SUBMERGED THE SAIL WAS 
i FOLDED DOWAJ AND A HAND TURNED 
MODELLER WAS 
USED 




DVAS A P/0 WEE# INVENTOR 
OF TORPEDOES PA/D SUB- 
MPR/NES - WE POPETOLD 
THAT THE SOBMAP/NE 
WOULD OWE DAY BECOME THE 
NOW'S MOSfDEAOL V WEAPON 


HE WAS ONE OF THE F/PST TO 
DEMONSTRATE THE TREMENDOUS \ 
POWER OF UNDER¬ 
WATER EXPLOSION 


F/E SPUE THE MODERN 
TORPEDO ITS NAAAE, 

DEP/V/NG. /T FROM 
"TORPEDO EL £ OTP/CL/S'; THE 
SCIENTIFIC A/PME OF THE 

Electric f/s/l. he op/c/mallt called 
both Sobs pa/d projectiles "'torpedoes t 



















3act: 


American submarines have not always been named 
for fish or for sea animals. Famous American submarines of 
earlier days which no longer have namesakes in the submarine 
fleet include Bushnell’s TURTLE; Fulton’s MUTE; Halstead’s 
INTELLIGENT WHALE; Professor Josiah Tuck’s PEACE¬ 
MAKER; the Confederate Navy’s HUNLEY and the series of 
Confederate DAVIDS; Abner R. Neff’s NEFF; Simon Lake’s 
PROTECTOR; the SCHLEY, named for the late Rear Admiral 
Winfield Scott Schley, USN; the ADDER; the HOLLAND; 
the VIPER; the TARANTULA; the SPUYTEN DUYVIL; 
the MOCCASIN; the ALSTITT and the STROMBOLI. 
Many of these submarines never were on the naval list, al¬ 
though many of them were tested under naval auspices. 


3 act: 


The submarine has been generally recognized as 
a legitimate instrument of naval warfare since the Civil War. 


3act: 


Two periscopes were used on submarines as early 
as 1907. In peacetime one periscope was used to conn the 
ship, the other to survey the entire horizon. 


3act: 


The first periscope used in the Navy was not used 
in a submarine. It was a periscope designed in 1864 by 
Thomas Doughty, acting chief engineer of the Navy. During 
Nathaniel Prentiss Bank’s Red River Expedition, Doughty 
was serving in the turreted monitor, OSAGE. When bush- 
wackers and snipers fired upon the OSAGE, Doughty became 
annoyed; particularly because the persons firing could not be 
seen by those aboard the ship. Thereupon, he constructed a 
sheet iron tube with a mirror arrangement, and this he poked 
up above the deck from the engine room openings. When he 
saw fire from the shore, he signalled to the OSAGE gunners 
to fire at the points he designated. The results were successful. 
Admiral David Porter praised and thanked him for the 
invention. 


— 14 


Submarine School 


The United States Submarine School at New London, Conn., 
occupies an outstanding place as a naval training center. It is 
one of the finest technical schools in the world. Submariners 
not only of our own Navy but of many other nations have 
been trained there. 

Established in December, 1915, the school began to acquire 
extensive training and research facilities within the next few 
years. It has continued to grow since that time, but the present 
war has greatly accelerated the rate of expansion. 

The school, which in reality is a series of schools, is situated 
at the Submarine Base on the Thames River. The site of the 
base was given to the Navy by the State of Connecticut in 
1867 and was used for many years as a naval coaling station. 

Diesel and sound laboratories, the famous compression 
chamber and escape tank, torpedo shops, attack teachers, peri¬ 
scope shops—these are but a few of the interesting departments 
or adjuncts of the school and base. 

Theoretical work in the classroom is followed by extensive 
practical work at sea in submarines assigned to the school. 
Nearby is the Electric Boat Company, at Groton, Conn., where 
modern submarines are coming off the ways in ever-increasing 
numbers. 

Engineering, electronics, radio, navigation, gunnery, torpedo 
overhaul and repair, strategy, tactics — these and many more 
courses compose an interesting curriculum. The instructors, 
however, impart more than theory. Nearly all of them have 
been on successful war patrols. Sometimes the interval for 
these instructors between combat and classroom is but a few 
weeks. 

In such a way does the Submarine School remain attuned 
to the global war. 


— 15 — 


ESCAPE TANK 



So you're a Submarine volunteer.' it's a Great 

SERVICE, MATE - ONLY THE TOP FIGHTING MEN OF 
THE NAVY ARE QUALIFIED. TAKE A SEAT AND „ 

WE'LL GIVE YOU YOUR FINAL PHYSICAL CHECK j 


YOU'RE OR PHYSICALLY,MATE 
NOW WE 60 INTO THE COM¬ 
PRESSION CHAMBER . THE 
PRESSURE WILL BE BUILT 
UP VERV GRADUALLY TO 
FIFTY POUND S. WHEN 
THE PRESSURE STARTS, 

/ >* HOLD YOUR NOSTRILS 
i m AND MOUTH CLOSED 
TIGHT, AND FORCE 
THE AIR PRESSURE 
TO BUILD UP INSIDE 
YOUR EARS. THIS 
& WILL EQUALIZE THE 
H OUTSIDE PRESSURE 
M* REPEAT EVERY FEW 
BREATHS, KEEPING 
AHEAD OF THE 
OUTSIDE PRESSURE, 
AND YOU WILL HAVE 

mrnmik no trouble/ 

Wjm "when we go into 
W mm the tank you will 
;W wear a momsen LUNG 

'Mr WHICH WILL ENABLE 

you to breathe 
normally" 


W 'YOU WILL BE 
f GIVEN A MARK 
ON YOUR SECOND 
ATTEMPT AT EACH 
DEPTH* SO MAKE IT 
GOOD . 


THE FIRST ESCAPE WILL BE MADE FROM THE DIVING 
BELL AT TWELVE FEET REMEMBER TO BREATHE NORMALLY 

And ascend Slowly the buoyancy of the lung will bring you up" 





























BMARINE SCHOOL, NEW LONDON 



MICE WORK' you VE MADE THE TWELVE 
AMD EIGHTEEN-FOOT ESCAPES. WHICH 
QUALIFY YOU IN THE TANK TESTS. 
YOU MAY TRY THE FIFTY AND ONE - 
HUNDRED FOOT ESCAPES VOL UNTAR ILY 


FOOT LOCK ' DON'T 
FORGET TO'POP' VOUR 
EARS AND STAY AHEAP OF 
THE PRESSURE KEEP 
CALM,AND MAINTAIN 

your hold on the guide 
line AT ALL times- 
i UP YOU GO/" 


MAiNTAIN 

SlUiCI 









































3act: 


One of the chief contributions which submarines 
make to wartime strategy is that of limiting the radius of action 
of an enemy fleet. 


3act: 


The principal inventors of the submarine were: a 
farmer, David Bushnell; a painter, Robert Fulton; a school 
teacher, John Philip Holland; and an engineer, Simon Lake. 


3act: 


Jules Verne, who in 1872 published his book, 
“Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” the story of an 
imaginary submarine, NAUTILUS, had a tremendous influence 
upon the development of the submarine. His fanciful imaginings 
fired the mind of John P. Holland as well as the mind of Simon 
Lake. Lake called Verne “the director-general of my life.” 


3act: 


Robert Fulton, submarine inventor, believed until 
his death that one day torpedo warfare would be more import¬ 
ant to the nation than the growth of steam navigation, which 
he had first proved practical. 


• “The submarine is not, like other small vessels, 
compelled to select for its antagonist a vessel of about its own 
or inferior power; the larger and more powerful its mark, the 
better its opportunity.” 

John P. Holland. 


• “With a well-trained crew, an efficient, daring 
and skillful skipper, the submarine continues to be unconquer¬ 
able. It does not recognize any nation’s mastery of the sea and 
air.” 

Harley F. Cope, Captain, U. S. N., 
in his book, “Serpent of the Seas/’ 




— 18 — 


3 he Modern Submarine 


The modern submarine is a deadly, ingenious and effective 
weapon. It is a marvel of scientific design, combining versa¬ 
tility with efficiency and great range with superior striking 
power. 

Yet the modern submarine, because of its size, provides 
commodious quarters for both officers and men. The old sub¬ 
marine rule — “Leave no idle inches” — is still carefully applied, 
but creature comforts are many. There are roomy bunks 
equipped with excellent springs and soft mattresses. There are 
showers and a washing machine. The newest submarines com¬ 
ing off the ways even have tiny soda fountains. 

Air conditioning is used throughout, and modern methods 
of refrigeration are used to guard the freshness and flavor of 
the large quantities of special food that are taken on patrol. 
Radios provide news and music while the sub is on the surface, 
and recording apparatus and record-changers provide enter¬ 
tainment and music for the hours spent submerged. The pro¬ 
grams are “piped” to all compartments of the submarine, but 
there is opportunity for a variety of simultaneous programs to 
satisfy individual wishes. 

Modern submarines, which cost in excess of $7,000,000 each, 
are as large as destroyers; in fact, many submarines employed 
in the operations, of the present war are actually larger than 
some destroyers still in effective use. 

Each modem submarine carries many torpodoes to be dis¬ 
charged from its nests of ten tubes. Because of the destructive¬ 
ness of the modern torpedo, a single hit can cripple or sink 
the mightiest warcraft afloat. A submarine, unlike some 
vessels, is not compelled to select an equal or an inferior 
opponent. Submariners say: “The bigger the enemy, the better 
we like to shoot.” 


— 19 — 


i 


Jact: 


Although the United States used submarines in 
the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War and 
World War I, no use was made of submarines in the Spanish- 
American War. Nevertheless, both the United States and Spain 
had submarines available for such use. 


Jact: 


George Washington called David Bushnell’s 
TURTLE, the first American submarine, “an effort of genius.” 


Jact: 


The first outstandingly successful photographs to 
be taken under the sea were those taken in Chesapeake Bay, Va., 
in 1913 by John Ernest Williamson, who used a device called 
the Williamson Submarine Tube and Photosphere. 


• Sails were once used to propel submarines on the 


Jact 

surface. 

Jact: Use of phosphorescent instruments in submarines 
is not new. David Bushncll used such devices in the dim in¬ 
terior of his TURTLE, the first American submarine. 


Jact: 


Wartime submariners are easy to distinguish. 
Each qualified enlisted man wears dolphins on the sleeve of his 
jumper, while each man who has been on a successful war patrol 
wears a little silver submarine with his ribbons. The silver sub¬ 
marine is the special combat insignia of the Submarine Service. 


Quote: 


“Japanese shipping has been a natural target 
for our submarines.” 

Admiral King. 


— 20 




JOHN PHILIP HOLLAND 


SUBMARINE GENIUS 



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3act: 


A submarine locomotive was patented in 1896. 


3act: 


A submarine is a versatile, deadly and ingenious 
instrument of war. Aside from primary combat duties, it per¬ 
forms supplementary duties of scout, coastal raider, troop trans¬ 
port, supply ship, advance fueling base for long-ranging planes, 
mine layer and emergency evacuation ship. It has often per¬ 
formed lifeguard duties for crashed fliers; a list of other duties 
within its scope of performance would be exhaustive. 


3act: 


More Navy Crosses and other decorations for 
valor have been awarded, per man, to the Submarine Service 
than to any other Navy branch. 


3act: 


The first submarine of the United States Navy, 
the PLUNGER, was built at the cost of $150,000, about one- 
fiftieth of the cost of a present-day submarine. 


3act: 


Steam from a boiler converted from a beer barrel 
provided the power for John P. Holland’s first underseas travel. 


3act: 


Submarine warfare is most effective against a na¬ 
tion that is not self-contained. The United States is one of the 
most self-contained nations in either hemisphere. 


Quote: 


“I never knew a submarine man yet who 
wanted to get out of them. In fact, the hardships of submarine 
life as visualized by people ashore are mostly imaginary.” 


FRANK WESLEY FENNO, 
Commander, USN., 
submarine skipper. 


Submarine Chow 


Favorite topic with every submarine crew is the chow. It 
is a well-supported boast that submarine food has no superior 
in the entire fleet. 

Submariners expect and assuredly get the finest of foods. 
Hence, it is no accident that submarine chow enjoys such an 
excellent reputation. 

First, extra allowances are made by the Navy for submarine 
menus. Then, since the diet of submariners must be carefully 
watched in order to keep them in top-notch condition through¬ 
out every patrol, a program of well-balanced meals has to be 
planned. Moreover, there is the submarine cook. 

Submarine cooks are justly famous. Nowhere in the Navy 
do cooks enjoy greater esteem among their shipmates than 
aboard the submarines. To submarine cooks, the preparation 
of food is an art, and they are always planning culinary sur¬ 
prises for their shipmates. 

“Night-snacks” and “pick-me-ups” long ago became a part 
of submarine tradition. New submariners cannot believe their 
eyes when they see the fudge being passed or a pan of peanut 
brittle suddenly appear. Many submarine cooks have a special 
birthday cake for every birthday which occurs during a war 
patrol. 

One privilege which every submariner enjoys is that of 
raiding the chill box whenever his fancy chooses. Cooks are 
proud when their chill boxes are frequently raided, and they 
are willing accomplices in these raids by preparing delicacies 
long in advance. A frequently raided chill box is an unmistak¬ 
able sign that the cook has plenty of know-how. 


— 23 — 




Jact: 


Sub men maintain that a submarine may correct¬ 
ly be called a boat, it being, they say, an outstanding exception 
to the Navy’s definition of the distinction between a ship and 
a boat. Technically, and by size, a submarine is a ship; but it 
has been called a boat since its earliest days, and the term is 
now well imbedded in tradition. Submariners almost invariably 
call their ships “boats.” 


Jact: 


Submariners often call the Momsen lung their 
“third lung.” The breathing bag is designed to hold the same 
volume of air as a man’s lungs. 


Jact: 


Submarines go farther into enemy territory and 
stay there longer than any other type of Army or Navy craft. 
They have nearly ten times the range of the modern bombing 
plane. 

QCt. Men in submarines get the highest pay in the 
Navy. 

CLCt., There is quicker promotion for enlisted men in the 
Submarine Service than in any other service. Hundreds of en¬ 
listed men, by dint of hard work and serious application, have 
won a new rate on every war patrol. 


Jact: 


Surveys show that submarine men are among the 
best read in the Navy. Each submarine carries a sizable library, 
restocked after each patrol. Some crews average as high as ten 
books read per man per war patrol. Exceptional men average a 
book a day. 


24 — 


Jke Submarine ... 

and the Future 


At last, the submarine has taken an indisputable place as 
one of the most formidable weapons of our sea power. It has 
proved its versatility as an instrument of both offensive and 
defensive warfare. It is a fighting ship par excellence. 

Yet, the short-sighted complaint is still being heard: “The 
submarine has no future.” 

Over two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by the seas 
and the oceans, an inescapable fact which betokens the myriad 
of uses which the submarine may have during eras of peace. 
Each important submarine inventor has felt that the submarine 
has greater contributions to make to peaceful pursuits than 
to the arts of war. 

Scientists maintain that there are untold and unimagined 
treasures in the sea. Magnesium, the so-called “wonder metal,” 
bromine, phosphorus, oil — these are but a few examples of 
the wealth being wrested from the sea or beneath it. 

Nearly 50 years ago, John P. Holland, a pioneer in sub¬ 
marining, wrote: “We have been so busy up to this time in 
getting a hearing for the claims of the submarine as an engine 
of war that we have overlooked almost entirely her future 
usefulness in the pursuits of peace. Yet in this field she pre¬ 
sents most fascinating possibilities. As a factor in commerce, 
there are great achievements before her. As an instrument of 
science, she has possibilities no man may prescribe.” 

Simon Lake, another pioneer, recently added: “Persons who 
say that the submarine has no future are simply blind to 
opportunity.” 

The words of both men are a continuing challenge. 


— 25 — 



I Jact: 


A submarine has a higher percentage of rated men 
than any other type of ship in the Navy. 


Jact: 


. • The accepted pronunciation of submariner in the 
Navy is subMARiner — with the accent on the “MAR” and 
with the “A” sounded as in fact. 


Jact: 


.« Three types of warning are used in a submarine. 
The diving and surfacing alarms are sounded on a klaxon. The 
collision alarm is sounded by means of a siren. The general 
alarm is sounded on a system of bells. 


Jact: 


.• Compressed air is used so extensively in a sub¬ 
marine because it allows such a large amount of power to be 
stored in a small space with minimum weight and because it is 
excellently adapted to use in a submerged vessel. 


CLCt., Simon Lake was the first to use a rotating peri¬ 
scope in his submarines. 

. Early American submarines used dynamite guns 
instead of torpedoes. 


Jact: 


Twin screws for submarines were introduced in 


1907. 


Jact: The Submarine Service is the nation’s most for¬ 
ward line of offense and one of its strongest lines of defense. 


— 26 — 


U/ie Submarine ... 

and the Principles of War 

The principles of war and how the modern submarine 
fulfills each may be briefed in this manner: 

SURPRISE: No ship can capitalize more upon surprise than 
can the submarine, which operates virtually unseen. 

OFFENSIVE ACTION: No ship or plane of the present day can 
match the submarine’s ability to proceed unsupported into 
enemy territory and maintain itself there. 

MOVEMENT: Again, the submarine is the longest-ranging 
implement of war possessed at present by either Army or Navy. 

FORCE: The submarine has a small, highly trained crew. Each 
qualified submariner knows not only his own duties but the 
duties of those around him. 

SUPERIORITY: The submarine need not limit its engagement 
to an opponent of equal or inferior size. It is the foe of all 
enemy ships, large or small. 

COOPERATION: The submarine is an effective fleet arm acting 
either as a part of a tactical force or performing semi¬ 
independent duties as advance scout. Interiorly, cooperation 
is a watchword of every submarine. 

MAINTENANCE: Endurance, range, versatility, concealment 
and superior striking power afford the submarine a combina¬ 
tion which makes the attainment of chosen objective always 
a strong likelihood. 

SECURITY: The Submarine Service won the name of Silent 
Service by careful observance of security and continued 
stress upon all forms of security — to wit, operations, design, 
equipment. 

SIMPLICITY: Submariners characterize the well-ordered sim¬ 
plicity of the submarine, however ingenious it might be, by 
the words: “No waste space, no waste motion.” 
CONCENTRATION: The modern submarine is a classic example 
of compactness and concentrated striking power — a striking 
power chiefly made possible by the destructiveness of the 
modern torpedo. 


— 27 





Do You Know? 


THAT the modern torpedo has more than 5,000 parts and more 
than 1,200 assemblies; the cost is between $3,500 and $12,000 
... That it takes approximately 225 individual checks to rig 
a modern submarine for diving... That the escape tank at 
the Submarine School holds 286,000 gallons of water. 


THAT the deepest man has ever penetrated into the ocean was 
3,028 feet, a little better than a half mile. This was accom¬ 
plished by William Beebe in his bathysphere. The same bathy¬ 
sphere is now being used by the Navy for underwater tests ... 
That Alexander the Great, born in 356 B. C., was the world’s 
first known submariner. He descended into the sea in a glass 
barrel so that he might watch the fish... That the crew of 
a modern submarine represents nearly 1000 years of training. 


THAT the Submarine Service, from a standpoint of personnel, 
is slightly less than one per cent of the Navy... That when 
a submarine is submerged, the pressure against the lower 
section, near the keel, is much greater than against the upper 
section, near the conning tower ... That there are many former 
submariners in the lighter-than-air branch of the Navy. Many 
of the principles of the two services are alike. 

THAT salt water weighs almost three per cent more than fresh 
water and that, therefore, a submarine has greater bouyancy 
in the ocean than in a river... That it costs the Navy more 
than five times as much for a modern submarine as it cost 
for a submarine of the latest construction during the first 
World War. 


— 28 — 









Submarine Promotion 


No man in the Submarine Service is held back who proves 
his ability and shows that he is applying himself. The sub¬ 
marine fleet continues steadily to expand, and this means 
increased opportunities. Rapid promotion is a natural result. 

There are few “clean sleevers” in submarines. A man who 
does not take advantage of the opportunity to become a petty 
officer thereby disproves his fitness for the responsibilities and 
demands of a submarine war patrol. Few men, moreover, can 
serve in a submarine and resist the ever-present challenge to 
study and to acquire a greater technical knowledge and skill. 
That is why there is a higher percentage of rated men aboard 
a submarine than aboard any other ship afloat. 

Further, submarine skippers believe in the justice of trans¬ 
ferring men to new submarines under construction when such 
transfer will insure additional opportunity and promotion for 
these men. Again, it is a tradition never to transfer to another 
submarine a man who will not reflect credit upon the submarine 
in which he previously served. Result: Good men go up fast. 

In the Submarine Service, each man must be willing to 
accept responsibility; as soon as he has proved himself reliable, 
additional responsibility is given him. Acceptance of responsi¬ 
bility and proof of reliability are twin roads to promotion. 

Submarine Service offers a close kinship between theoretical 
study and practical work. Every submarine patrol affords 
opportunity for study and for the immediate application of 
newly acquired knowledge. A man’s limitations are established 
only by himself. He sets his own pace. 

Resultingly, it is not unusual for many bluejackets to acquire 
an additional rating on each new war patrol. Opportunities 
will continue to exist as long as submarines keep sliding down 
the building ways. And there is a long range program ahead. 


— 20 — 



SIMON LAKE 


SUBMARINE EXPLORER 




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Submarine Pay 

Submariners get the highest pay in the Navy. 

Submarine pay for enlisted men and warrant officers 
is roughly an 80 per cent boost of normal base pay. 
For other commissioned officers, including chief warrant 
officers, it is roughly a 65 per cent boost of normal 
base pay. 

The belief is stoutly held by submariners that this 
additional pay is awarded not for particularly hazardous 
assignment but because submariners are expected to 
know so much about their duties. 

Every bluejacket serving aboard a submarine must 
possess a higher skill in his work and a greater knowl¬ 
edge of his job than it is generally necessary to acquire 
elsewhere in the Navy. Moreover, he is expected to 
shoulder responsibility and to prove himself equal to it. 
Then, too, he is required to know not only his own job 
but the jobs of those around him before he can be 
recognized as a qualified submariner. 

A submariner keeps on learning more and more 
about his submarine the longer he stays aboard. It is of 
primary importance for him to learn the relationship 
of every task to the efficient operation of the vessel. 
Particularly during a period of war, when new devices 
change rapidly in design and in manner of operation, 
there is much to learn. Each new war patrol offers some 
last-minute piece of equipment to test the skill, the appli¬ 
cation and the ingenuity of all hands. 

That is why submariners pool their knowledge and 
teach each other. They realize that the skill of each in¬ 
dividual is a major contribution to the efficient operation 
of the entire vessel. 

Submarine pay is awarded to all men, whether or not 
they have qualified for their dolphins. Yet, the men are 
as eager as ever to qualify for this distinctive insignia. 


— 31 


Jhe Submariner's Creed 


I believe in THE SUBMARINE and am proud of the path 
it is smashing toward victory. Eagerly I look forward to the 
job that must be carried on and finished. 


I believe that the men aboard make THE SUBMARINE, 
investing it with life, giving soul to its substance, bringing 
meaning to the strength of steel, the designer’s sleek lines, 
the builder’s care and the worker’s labor. 


I believe that reliability makes THE SUBMARINE, and by 
cultivating a sense of responsible action I will school myself 
to be dependable in every situation and worthy of every trust. 


1 believe that skill makes THE SUBMARINE, and I promise 
to devote my time to the forging and perfecting of my own 
contributory skill. Skill, I know, doubles courage. Coolness 
triples it. 


I believe that a conception of unity and the spirit of comrade¬ 
ship make THE SUBMARINE, and I will coordinate my 
efforts with those of my shipmates and accept as my guide 
the inflexible code of one for all and all for one. 


I believe that determination makes THE SUBMARINE, and 
daily I will grow stronger in the resolution to work hard, to 
strike hard and to keep fighting — knowing that in this way 
alone can I hasten the victory. 


— 32 — 



Submarine Combat Insignia 

For submariners serving in World War II, the Navy 
Department has created distinctive insignia known as Sub¬ 
marine Combat Insignia. 

This award consists of a silver submarine pin with a tiny 
scroll to which gold stars may be added. Officers and men who 
complete one or more successful war patrols are entitled to 
the award. 

A successful patrol is one during which the submarine 
sinks or assists in sinking at least one enemy vessel or ac¬ 
complishes a combat mission of comparable importance. 

Both officers and men wear the insignia in a horizontal 
position on the left breast. When worn with ribbons or medals, 
the pin is placed just above the center of the ribbons or medals. 
Qualified submarine officers who already wear dolphins above 
their ribbons or medals, wear the combat insignia in a corre¬ 
sponding position below. 

The pin itself represents the first successful patrol. A single 
gold star on the scroll represents the second patrol. An addi¬ 
tional star signifies the third. The third star represents four 
or more successful patrols. 

An appropriate notation is made in the service record of 
each man who receives this award. 









































































































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